Ceramic sol-gel compositions that have sites that will crosslink into a polymer network are known. Such compositions may be formulated with cureable monomers to produce radiation curing compositions, for instance.
Compositions of thermoplastic polymers and particulate ceramic and metal nano-particles particles are known. For instance, fumed and colloidal silicas have wide uses in polymer compositions as fillers and reinforcing agents. Nanocomposite thermoplastic materials are typically made by mechanically mixing nanoparticles with the thermoplastic resin in a compounding process. However dispersion is often difficult, particularly in viscous melt or rubbery compositions of thermoplastic high polymers. The particulate materials will often agglomerate or clump when processed or blended into the base material. Furthermore, often it is difficult to achieve desired physical properties without sacrificing other desired properties. Using such particles to increase tensile properties of the polymer composition often produces an undesirable loss of flexibility, for instance. Additionally, many of these compositions are susceptible to a loss of desired properties upon aging.
There exists a need therefore for improved particulate materials useful in thermoplastic high polymer compositions that provide a wider range of physical property improvement benefits than are currently available.
U.S. patent application Ser. No. 11/094,638, filed Mar. 30, 2005, incorporated herein by reference in its entirety, describes polymeric/ceramic composite materials for use in medical devices polymer and sol-gel derived ceramic. The polymer and sol-gel ceramic may form a bi-continuous nanophase or separate polymeric and sol-gel derived ceramic phases.